ATINER's Conference Paper Series ARC2013-0729 · theaters in Anatolia, but it is also one of the buildings of Caunus that has survived in a good state of preservation. ‘The Theatre

ATINER CONFERENCE PAPER SERIES No: ARC2013-0729

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Athens Institute for Education and Research

ATINER

ATINER's Conference Paper Series

ARC2013-0729

Yasemen Say Özer

Associate Professor Dr.

Yıldız Technical University

Turkey

Nevzat Oğuz Özer


Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University

Turkey

The Architecture of the Ancient

Caunus City Theatre


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ISSN 2241-2891

7/11/2013


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This paper should be cited as follows:

Say Özer, Y. and Oğuz Özer, N. (2013) "The Architecture of the Ancient

Caunus City Theatre" Athens: ATINER'S Conference Paper Series, No:

ARC2013-0729.


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The Architecture of the Ancient Caunus City Theatre

Yasemen Say Özer


Yıldız Technical University

Turkey

Nevzat Oğuz Özer


Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University

Turkey

Abstract

Ancient city Caunus is situated on the southwest shore of Anatolia, across

the island of Rhodes. Today it is located within the borders of the town of

Köyceğiz, across from the town of Dalyan and on the western bank of the

Dalyan (Calbis) river which connects Köyceğiz Lake with the Mediterranean.

Being a port during antiquity, the city now lies far away from the seashore

due to the formation of the Dalyan Delta. The situation of its harbor was

strategically important for ships sailing between the Aegean Sea and the

Eastern Mediterranean. Therefore, the great powers at different times in

antiquity fought bitterly with each other to control this harbour city.

The theater, which is situated on the western slope of the Acropolis, is not

only the best-preserved Hellenic theater among the theaters in Anatolia, but is

also one of the buildings of Caunus that has survived in a good state of

preservation. Cavea has approximately 5000 seat capacity. The rows are

divided into two sections by the diazoma, which divides the whole theatron

horizontally. It is divided into nine wedge-shaped kerkides. There are 15 seats

in the upper Cavea and 18 seats in the lower Cavea. In recent years of our

archeological studies, a fountain was found at the collapsed northwestern side

of the theater.

The aim of this paper is to describe architecture of the ancient theater of

the city Kaunos, and define the touches to it.

Keywords:

Corresponding Author:


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Introduction

Caunus, an ancient city in Anatolia, is situated on the southern shore of

Turkey, across from the Island of Rhodos. When geographically considered, its

hinterland opens out towards Lycia in the east, where it is separated from the

rest of Caria by semicircular mountain range immediately to the west and the

north. At the present day, Caunus is located within the borders of the modern

village Çandır of the town of Köyceğiz, across from the town of Dalyan and on

the western bank of the Dalyan (Calbis) River which connects Köyceğiz Lake

to the Mediterranean. Being an important port during antiquity, the city now

lies 8 km away from the seashore due to the formation of the Dalyan Delta.

When we study the written sources of the history of Caunus, Herodotus

informs us; ‘After conquering the Ionians, Harpagus proceed to attack the

Carians, the Caunians and the Lycians.’. Herodotus also writes about the local

people and says, ‘The Caunians, in my judgment, are aboriginals; but by their

own account they came from Crete. In their language, either they have

approximated to the Carians or the Carian to them -on this point I cannot speak

with certainty. In their customs, however, they differ greatly from the Carians,

and not only so, but from all other men.’ G. Bean also emphasizes that,

Caunians language, although it resembles the Carian language a lot, it also has

some specific characteristics. The founders of Caunus were different from their

neighbours by their language, traditions and customs as well as by their own

deities, and they appeared as if they were another distinct and indigenous

culture of Anatolia.

The fact that the founders of Caunus were natives of Anatolia is also

proven by its particular and different local name in the Lycian version of the

Trilingual Inscription from the Letoon: Kbid. This Lycian version of the name

Caunus was also carved on the “Pillar” located in the agora of Xanthos and is

further supported by a fourth century B.C. bilingual stele, which was unearthed

in the course of our excavations. The name Caunus in the Greek Text has its

counterpart in the Carian text as Kbid. Based on our present knowledge, it is

obvious that the Caunians used the local name of their city until the end of the

4th century BC. But how did the name Caunus come into use during the time

of Herodotus? To be honest this is quite difficult to explain. Recent research

has emphasized that Caunus is a Greek name. This name change could perhaps

be explained by the “story” that Greek colonizers change the names of the

cities to Greek names to claim the foundations, a method we find in most

Anatolian cities.

When we approach the city from the Dalyan River, the carved rock tombs

attract the attention. The top ones are temple facing and the lower ones are

simple. There is a large unfinished tomb which has four columns. It has been

known that the rock tombs have been used in different periods.

Caunus was a commercial city and its main trade “commodities” were

slaves, salted fish and salt that was used in the production of eye ointment. In

addition to these, resin and rosin from Turkish black pine for building ships

were important trade products.


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Figure 1. The Plan of Caunus City

Figure 2. Some Important Buildings in the City


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The Architecture of the City

The geomorphological and topographical changes that marked the

environment prior to, during and after the foundation of the city make Caunus

quite interesting, not only in its geographical and urban aspect, but also in its

political and social life, its economical and cultural changes and achievements.

Geography was particularly important in the situation of the buildings, in the

case of forming the urban structure, walls, harbours, and man-made terraces in

the city’s progress.

The city is located on a three-part land lying towards the sea. One of these

is the Acropole with 152 m height; the second is the small Acropole, and the

third, Bilezikçi Hill.

The most important characteristic of the city is its harbour, now known as

Sülüklü Lake. It is located in the cove between the small Acropole and Bilezikçi

Hill. The city is formed around this harbour. The situation of the harbor was

strategically important for ships sailing between the Aegean Sea and the

Eastern Mediterranean. Therefore, the great powers at different times in

antiquity fought harshly with each other in order to control this harbour city.

The historian Strabo especially mentioned that the harbour could be closed.

Another important characteristic of the city is its man-made terraces. They

are on the hillsides surrounding the city and also on the hills. These terraces

give the city monumentality. Another important characteristic of the city is its

walls and buildings.

At the present day there aren’t any examples of civil architecture, but the

stoa and the fountain at Agora, Terrace Temple, the Domed Church, the

Roman Bath and the Theatre are the most important surviving buildings. One

of these places, Theatre, in many respects, is worth to investigate further.

The Theatre

The theater is not only the best-preserved Hellenic theater among the

theaters in Anatolia, but it is also one of the buildings of Caunus that has

survived in a good state of preservation. ‘The Theatre is in tolerable

preservation; it is of inferior workmanship, has thirty-four rows of seats

divided by a diazoma, and faces the sea.’ writes RD Hoskyn at his Caunus

survey in 1840.

When we question the location of theatre in the city, we realize that it

connects to Acropolis, Domed Church and the Roman Bath. It is situated on

the western slope of the Acropolis and has been built under a 27 degree angle.

Today, some parts of Analemma at North and East side partially and the

stage building is completely demolished. The southeastern and northwestern

part of the cavea has been destroyed. The rows and stairs that are from

limestone, leading to the upper cavea have partially collapsed.


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Figure 3. Plan of the Theatre



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Cavea

Cavea, which is carved into the bedrock, faces southwest and has a

maximum 5000 seats capacity. The peripheral wall of the cavea of Caunus

theatre is really interesting and full of mystery. At the northwest side, the

Analemma wall reaches its highest level, which is 15.50 meters. But this height

causes trouble at the structural system of the wall and now it is partly in ruins.

As a result of archeological excavations in recent years, a monumental fountain

was discovered under the ruins, at the bottom of the Analemma wall.

The Cavea is divided into nine wedge-shaped kerkides by eight staircases

composed of 19 cm high steps. Each kerkis comprises thirty-three seats. These

rows are divided into two sections by the 1.6 meter wide diazoma, which

divides the whole cavea horizontally. Thus there are sixteen seats in the upper

Cavea and eighteen seats in the lower cavea.

In almost every part of the cavea, one can see the holes for the wooden

poles, where the awnings were stretched to protect the spectators from bad

weather and the sun.

Orchestra

The orchestra, which has a diameter 22,80 meter, is horseshoe-shaped.

The floor of the orchestra is made of compressed soil on the bedrock. The

lowest row of the cavea sits at the basement of the orchestra. The access to the

Orchestra is on the ground by the northwest and from carved stairs of the

bedrock by the southeast.


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Entrances

There are four entrances at different elevations. Two entrances with barrel

vaults, give access to the Diazoma. The entrance by northwest direction

encloses stairs. The audiences, who use this entry, arrive at the landing of stairs

by climbing the stairs, then by turning left or right, for their places. We can tell

that the entrance was closed with a wooden door for a period by looking at the

opposing holes. The ground of vaulted entrance, which passes directly to the

diazoma by northeastern, has been covered by large rectangular stones.

Parodoi

Cavea and Skene are joined with open parodoi. One of the parodoi is

closed with no apparent reason.

Skene

The Skene, which has been built of limestone blocks, has dimensions of

21,75 x 8,40 meters. The new space has been added near the skene in time.

With this additional space, the Skene’s new dimensions have become 38,50 x

10,40 meters. It is understood from the ruins that the skene is a two-storey

building. The marble and the sandstone are found in the ruins of upper

building. At the excavation works in here, many sculpture fragments have been

found. The excavation and research of the skene is not yet completed.

Figure 6. Section of the Theatre

Figure 7. Section of the Theatre


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Figure 8. Façade from Analemma and the Monumental Fountain

The Monumental Fountain at Analemma

This monumental fountain at the analemma has a special feature for the

Caunus Theatre. There is a niche in the wall, which is 11,85 meters in width.

The dimensions of the fountain are 10,60 x 6,00 meters and it is covered with a

vault which has a height of approximately 5,50 meters. In front of the fountain,

there is a courtyard that is covered with stone plates. The facade of this

courtyard has two columns and the sole entrance of the fountain is right there.

The excavation and research of the fountain is not yet completed.

Figure 9. Plan of the Fountain and vaulted entrances


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Figure 10. A View from the Fountain

Bibliography

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Heyeti Arkeoloji Araştırmaları Bölümü. . [In Turkish].

Herodotus, (1983) Herodot Tarihi. İstanbul: Remzi Kitabevi. [In Turkish].

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(2004-2009)’ MİMARLIK 354:18-22. [In Turkish].

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[In Turkish].

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Documents

ATINER's Conference Paper Series ARC2013-0729 · theaters in Anatolia, but it is also one of the buildings of Caunus that has survived in a good state of preservation. ‘The Theatre